Book Review: "The Roommate Pact" by Allison Ashley

The blurb on the cover of The Roommate Pact reads, “Anyone who wants to swoon needs to read this book!” And I must say, while many blurbs are way off the mark, this one is pretty accurate!

Claire is an ER nurse who can’t seem to find a relationship that will last. She’s outspoken and a little wild, and that apparently intimidates men. One drunken evening, panic about being single forever leads her to propose a pact: if neither she or her sexy firefighter roommate, Graham, can find a mate by the time they’re 40, they’ll get together—as friends with benefits.

As gorgeous as he is, Claire could never be in an actual relationship with Graham. He’s relationship-phobic, and not only does he have a dangerous job, but he loves taking risks—climbing mountains, etc. She never would want to settle down with someone like him and constantly fear him getting hurt, or worse. But as the chemistry between them intensifies, would it hurt if they started the benefits part of their friendship a little early?

When Graham gets badly hurt while rock climbing, Claire becomes his caregiver for a while. If that means sleeping in his bed to ensure he’s safe, or taking care of his little dog, Gertrude (who hates Claire), then so be it. And as they draw closer and closer, how can they keep from falling for each other, which neither was supposed to do?

The characters have fantastic chemistry. I couldn’t get enough Graham—he’s definitely one of those characters whose cockiness masks so much depth—and Claire was fantastic. If you read Ashley’s last book, Would You Rather (which I really enjoyed), the main characters from that book are Graham and Claire’s best friends. This really was a great book—steamy, fun, romantic, and emotional.

Book Review: "Aesthetica" by Allie Rowbottom

Allie Rowbottom's debut is a searing look at the pressures of social media and beauty standards for women.

Ever since Anna was young, she wanted to be beautiful and famous. As she grew into her teen years, she realized that her best bet was to become an influencer on social media. She was constantly obsessed with photos, angles, likes, and followers.

After graduation from high school, she moves to Los Angeles and really ups her social media game. She quickly catches the attention of Jake, who is handsome and well-connected, and he becomes her boyfriend and manager of sorts. And little by little, she finds she needs to change herself to be what the public wants, so she becomes obsessed with plastic surgery.

The book alternates between Anna at 19 and Anna at 35, barely recognizable because of all the surgeries, procedures, and fillers she’s had through the years. Gone are the days of influencing; she now works at the cosmetics counter of a store that sells anti-aging products.

Anna is about to have revolutionary surgery called Aesthetica, which will reverse all of her past surgeries and procedures and return her face to what it should look like for a woman her age. She hopes it will help her find her true self again—if she survives the risky surgery. At the same time, she’s being asked to speak out against Jake, who has also remade himself as an adventure-seeking family man despite all of his transgressions through the years.

This is a really powerful book. It’s not a happy one, necessarily, but it definitely made me think about the unrealistic pressures social media and fame put on people, especially women.

Book Review: "Once Upon a December" by Amy E. Reichert

She’s met the perfect man. There’s just one catch.

Astra Noel Snow loves the holidays. Even though her job as a library director is challenging and sharing custody of her dog with her manipulative ex-husband is stressful, nothing brings her more joy than spending time with her college roommates, getting the Yuletide spirit at Milwaukee’s enchanting Christmas market. (And the handsome baker who always saves some of the best kringle for her is a definite bonus.)

Jack Clausen and his family live in the Julemarked, where it’s Christmas all year-round. Once the holiday is over, those who run the market prepare for the next holiday every four weeks, and they never know where in the world the magic will take them. But Jack loves the years they wind up in Milwaukee, because he hopes he’ll see her—the beautiful woman who comes into the bakery each time, with whom he feels a special connection.

When Astra and Jack share a romantic evening, Astra feels like she’s found the man she’s been looking for. But when she returns to the market after Christmas, she finds no trace of it—or Jack—and her friends only have foggy memories of the whole thing. Did she hallucinate a magical Christmas market AND a handsome man?

When the next Christmas rolels around, and the market returns to Milwaukee, Astra learns the truth about the Julemarked and Jack. Is she willing to give up everything in her life to live with Jack in the market? Or can he sacrifice his family and the only life he’s ever known to live outside with Astra?

A sweet love story? A handsome baker? A magical Christmas market where time runs differently? This was definitely a story full of holiday spirit. Sure, you have to suspend your disbelief, but isn’t that part of the holiday magic?

Book Review: "Sea Prayer" by Khaled Hosseini

Khaled Hosseini's Sea Prayer isn't a book—it's a poem. But it's more than a poem—it is, in essence, a letter written from father to son, a prayer lifted up on the eve of a journey away from their war-torn country, a journey which could prove tremendously dangerous.

In less than 50 pages, Hosseini's words and the beautiful illustrations break your heart. This was inspired by the story of Alan Kurdi, a three-year-old Syrian boy believed to have drowned during his family's attempts to flee their country, but it could be anyone's story. The remembrances of better times, reflections of a country once utterly beautiful but now devastated by war and the resulting effects, words that a young boy might not understand now but might grow to appreciate later.

I read this in just a few minutes and it punched a hole in my heart. We often don't take the time to think of what families must go through when they leave their homes which are welcoming no more. We don't think about their fears, their memories which make them reluctant to leave, the dangers they face along the way.

Hosseini, author of The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns, will donate his proceeds from this book to the UNHCR (the UN Refugee Agency) and The Khaled Hosseini Foundation to help fund lifesaving relief efforts to help refugees around the globe.

Sea Prayer is short and powerful, and once it is read it will not cease to be felt or forgotten. Thank you, Khaled Hosseini, for reminding us of the emotional and physical costs of immigration.

Book Review: "Black Diamond Fall" by Joseph Olshan

"It was real life now, maybe even real love, named hours before in a sort of fever, a shiny token tossed into a deep well that still glimmered from far below."

Joseph Olshan's new novel, Black Diamond Fall is both a mystery and a somewhat elegiacal look at the passions and uncertainties of love, the challenges of coming to terms with your own sexuality, how grief and anger can consume us, and having to come to terms with the end of a relationship that you don't think should end. While I believe the book works better when it concentrates on the latter issues rather than the mystery component, the mystery is core to the characters' emotions.

Luc Flanders is a student at a small Vermont college. He is a guarded, complex young man whose life was changed after he suffered a traumatic brain injury when he was a teenager. One night, after playing hockey on a frozen pond with his roommates, he realizes he lost something important to him, so he goes back to the pond to find it. He encounters someone while at the pond, and never returns.

After ensuring he didn't fall through the ice that night, everyone—Luc's parents, his roommates, his ex-girlfriend, even the police—can't figure out what happened to Luc, although many have their suspicions, especially once they find out Luc had secretly been in a relationship with Sam Solomon, an architect closer in age to Luc's parents than him. While many knew that Luc was hiding something, it is a surprise to find he had been hiding something so significant.

Sam struggles to deal with the police interrogation related to Luc's disappearance and their relationship, and he doesn't appreciate the scrutiny and suspicion from total strangers as well as people he knows well. Sam didn't want the relationship with Luc to end, didn't understand why Luc was so dead set against accepting the truth about his sexuality, why he wanted to give up a chance to truly love and be loved the way he had always longed to.

When the home of famed poet Robert Frost, not far from the college campus, is vandalized, the police investigating the incident discover some interesting links between this crime and Luc's disappearance. Are the two crimes connected? Will finding out who is responsible for the vandalism lead them to Luc's whereabouts?

When the book focuses on Luc and Sam and their relationship, and the way those around them must come to terms with it, it is beautifully written, poignant, thought-provoking, and at times, emotional. You can feel the conflicts that Luc is dealing with, torn between accepting who he is, giving in to love, or trying to live a "normal" life. You can also feel the strength of Sam's grief even though he knew inherently their relationship might not last.

I felt the mystery components were still compelling, but I wanted more Sam and Luc. However, the chapters narrated by Luc's mother and a police detective investigating Luc's disappearance are definitely readable, and you hope that everything will be solved to your liking, that none of the characters you've come to care about are responsible for any of the bad things that happened.

Joseph Olshan is an immensely gifted storyteller. His novel Clara's Heart was made into a late-1980s movie with Whoopi Goldberg and Neil Patrick Harris, and I remember being utterly moved by Nightswimmer when I read it in 1994. I'm glad to see his talent is as strong as ever with Black Diamond Fall. While at times it feels like two books in one, the fact is, you can't stop reading either of them, and at the end, you're moved by the beauty of Olshan's writing.

NetGalley and Polis Books provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!